Norwegian Air and British Airways Delight Football Fans with Playful World Cup Bet on Instagram
Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Norwegian Air and British Airways engaged in a viral Instagram bet during the FIFA World Cup.
- Norwegian Air temporarily changed its profile logo to British Airways' after losing the bet.
- The friendly wager sparked playful comments from other airlines worldwide.
A friendly wager between Norwegian Air and British Airways on Instagram has captured the attention of football fans and other airlines alike. The bet, which began on July 8, centered on the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals match where England was set to play Norway.
It's coming home. Well played, England and British Airways.
Norwegian Air initially challenged British Airways in an Instagram reel, proposing that if Norway won, British Airways would have to switch its Instagram logo to Norwegian Air's for one day. The bet was reciprocal: if England won, Norwegian Air would adopt the British Airways logo. British Airways responded with a confident "Don't make bets you can't win," a comment that garnered over 100,000 likes.
@british_airways, ready to risk your logo?
Following England's victory over Norway, Norwegian Air upheld its end of the bargain. The low-cost airline swapped its Instagram profile logo for British Airways' on Sunday, July 13. In a post accompanying the logo change, Norwegian Air stated, "While the tournament is over for us, this friendly bet will forever live in all our hearts. We wish England and @british_airways all the best in the semi-final, and we sincerely hope you'll get to bring football home!"
Don't make bets you can't win.
The playful exchange went viral, attracting comments from numerous other airlines, including Malaysia Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Swiss Air, Qatar Airways, Icelandair, Air India, Skyscanner, and Flightradar24. The banter continued leading up to the match, with British Airways posting a video hinting at the bet and Norwegian Air humorously responding about being "hovering over the delete button." After the bet was settled, Norwegian Air also launched a flash sale on flights from England to Norway.
While the tournament is over for us, this friendly bet will forever live in all our hearts. We wish England and @british_airways all the best in the semi-final, and we sincerely hope you'll get to bring football home!
Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.